Cat and Mouse
by Ivette Boveda
Summary: In this Xover w House,MD,Don's life in the witness protection program is made more difficult because he works at a gift shop in PPTH, & House is suspicious. Last Chapter Posted.
1. Ch 1: When Donnie met Gregory

_Note: This takes place mid 2nd season for both shows. Don has been in the witness protection program for two months or so. _

Don sighed as he saw a man, who used a cane and stood next to him in the hospital cafeteria line, purchase a salad with a steak hidden underneath. He wanted to say something, but he was in no position to do so. The last thing he wanted to do was draw attention to himself by ratting on people for petty stuff.

House, told his friend, when they were seated. "See that guy with the goatee?"

"The one who runs the gift shop? On this floor?" Wilson asked.

"He knows"

"Knows what?"

"That I stole the steak"

"Are you going to kill him?" Wilson asked ironically as he bit into the so called chicken

"He 's very observant" House commented. "And too smart to be at a register"

"Cuddy seems to like him." Wilson cleverly said, as she noticed her coming up to him.

"How are you?" she asked casually. On an impulse, the woman had gone some days ago to the gift shop to get something for her office, and had found Don to be smart, and good looking.

"Great, sales are pretty good" Don told her, fighting the temptation to flirt back.

"Thanks to your efforts!" she complimented him. "I noticed that you rearranged a few things"

Don shrugged and felt a bit uneasy. She seemed nice, but the woman was a hospital administrator. So he had mixed feelings about her attentions.

As they made more small talk, House told his friend "He's uncomfortable"

"He doesn't look uncomfortable"

"He's just hiding it pretty well" House said. "Her attention seems bother him. Why?"

" Maybe He doesn't want people to get the wrong idea, and accuse her of favoritism." Wilson commented.

"He works in the gift shop! That's not even Cuddy's territory!" House rolled his yes. "If I were a cashier, and some pretty doctor with well endowed fun bags came to talk to me, I'd be as happy as a lark, wouldn't you?"

"You really need to get a new case!" Wilson rolled his eyes.

A few hours later, House went into the gift shop to see Brian.

"Brian?" The man had read the name on the name tag a while ago.

"Yeah?" Don said. House noticed that it took a few milliseconds longer than it should have for the man to answer.

"Do you have any of those shirts that say.. 'I survived Cancer and all I got was this lousy tee shirt' ? "House loved to provoke people, and he could tell that he succeeded with Brian.

" No I don't" Don hated that someone would trivialize cancer like that, given that his own mother had died from it. "But I do have a shirt that says "'I'm an insensitive Jackass' "

"Did I strike a chord?"

"Would you quit bothering Brian?" Cuddy scolded House as she came in. "He's trying to work here!"

"Buying more stuff for your desk?" House asked, tongue in cheek.

"I just wanted to get some teddy bears for a couple of kids who are getting transplants" she informed him.

"Yeah sure" House thought.

"We just got these in today" Don showed her a bunch of blue teddy bears.

Cuddy lingered for a while, and House left, with some food for thought.

Soon, she told Don "Doctor House, enjoys provoking people. Don't let it get to you"

"Sure...thanks for the advice." he nodded.

He finally got to close the shop around five, went home. watched a game, and drank beer. Somehow, it just wasn't the same without his dad and brother. The agent had gotten used to having them around when off duty. Now he was stuck at a boring job, with no one to talk to. While it was hard to have a relationship as an agent, it was impossible as someone in the witness protection program. People liked to get to know you on dates, especially after a few of them. You have to lie all the time. It didn't help that damn Doctor house put salt on an old wound. What a bastard! Reluctantly, he went to bed around eleven, so he could get up and do the same old routine again.

Meanwhile, House and Wilson had watched T.V together

"The gift shop guy's using an alias." House told his friend.

"What makes you say that?"

"It took him too long to answer when I called him by the name on his name tag." House explained. "Answering to your name is instinctive. He hesitated a little."

Wilson shook his head, knowing that his friend wasn't going to lay off the gift shop guy until he found out everything he could about him.

The oncologist thought "I'd hate to be in your shoes"

TBC


	2. Ch 2: Enter the Ducklings

The next day, Don found himself next to Cuddy in line.

"Brian! What a surprise!" she smiled. The agent wasn't exactly disappointed as he found that the aqua blue outfit she wore complemented her.

"How are you, Doctor Cuddy?" Don asked with a smile that Cuddy found sexy.

"Busy" she got herself a salad. "Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all" Don didn't want to be rude. Besides, he liked her company.

Soon they sat down.

Meanwhile, Cameron and Chase ate together, while discussing the newest case.

"Isn't that the man from the gift shop, with Cuddy?" the Australian asked. He knew the man because he had gone to the gift shop to get something for a date a few days back.

"I guess..." Cameron shrugged

Cuddy asked back at the table. "Where do you hail, from?"

" Colorado." Don said. "I grew up near Boulder"

"What brings you to New Jersey?" she took a bite out of her salad.

"Change of scenery" Don put a forkful of food in his mouth as well.

"How are you liking new Jersey?"

As Brian nee Don, answered, House, joined the two ducklings.

"Seems like Cuddy enjoys Gift shop guy's company" House remarked with a smirk. " Notice how he looks around, worried that someone will notice her talking to him."

"Maybe he's married,and neglects to put on the wedding ring at work?" Chase suggested.

"If he were married, there would be a pale mark, where a ring should be" House said.

Cameron wondered, "Why are you obsessing over a guy who runs a gift shop?"

"He's using an alias"

Cameron gave him a puzzled look "What?"

"It takes him too long to answer to the name Brian"

"Maybe he was very busy with something when you tried to get his attention. That happens to me sometimes" Chase shrugged.

House continued "He's trying to keep Cuddy at a distance"

"He could be gay" Chase mused. "Or maybe she just isn't his type."

"Or maybe he doesn't plan to be here long" House finished for his duckling.

Cameron suggested sardonically. "Maybe he's a psycho serial killer on the lam"

"That would definitely disappoint Cuddy" House remarked with a deadpan. "She so wants to jump his bones"

"Maybe we should get back to the case?" Cameron suggested, as she had grown tired of this conversation.

Later, at the diagnostics department, House asked Foreman

"If you were a fugitive, would working at a hospital be your first choice?"

The man sighed. "What has this got to do with the patient?"

"House thinks the guy who runs the gift shop near the cafeteria is using an alias" Cameron explained with annoyance and turned to House "You think he's a criminal on the lam? I wasn't being serious."

"Yeah, but not necessarily a serial killer..."

"It would be pretty hard, because a lot of jobs require you to have a social security number" Foreman said.

"And a fugitive couldn't very well use their own." House said.

"If you suspect this, why not just call the police, let them take care of it?" Cameron challenged her boss.

"Not enough proof" House mused, as he sat back in the chair at his desk.

Later, Chase, having lost a bet with House about a patient, found himself, going with a sigh to the gift shop. His mission: to become friends with the gift shop guy.

"Got another date?" Brian nee Don asked.

"Yeah..." Chase lied. "So uh..has it been busy today?"

"Not really" Don shrugged.

"I see you've got some mad libbs, crossword puzzle books, and sodoku books here" Chase remarked as he looked around.

"Figured patients could use them." Don said. The person in charge of the store had been quite willing to listen to Don's suggestions.

"I see..." Chase said, then asked him "What I should get?"

"Just don't get her soap" Don suggested with a smile.

Chase gave him a puzzled look "Soap?"

"A uh...friend of mine got his date expensive soap and it didn't go over very well"

Chase nodded, "I can only imagine"

Don chuckled, wistfully remembering his dear old dad. "He came home early."

"I can see why" Chase laughed. "Where is your friend now?"

"Out West." Don said vaguely, hating that he had no contact with this father.

Deftly, Chase turned the subject to sports. They both discussed their favorite teams and players from football, basketball, and hockey.

"Maybe we could watch a game sometime?" Chase suggested.

"Sure." Don didn't see the harm in watching a game with another guy. Besides, he needed the company.

"How about Friday?" the Australian suggested.

"Okay."

"We could watch it at the sports bar near campus." Chase suggested "On Friday?"

"Sure, I'd like that. We could meet there around seven?".

With that, the doctor bought a stuffed animal for show, and left, before saying good bye.

Upon returning to Diagnostics, House pounced on him and they talked just outside. House didn't want Cameron to ruin it by finding a way to tell gift shop guy.

"How did it go?"

"We're watching a game at the sports bar near campus" Chase said, a part of him felt guilty. "On Friday"

"What did you guys talk about?" House loved the news.

"Sports, mostly. He seems to prefer west coast teams such as the Dodgers, and the Kings" Chase said.

"Did you ask him what you should get for your date?"

"Yeah...he joked that I shouldn't get expensive soap"

"Expensive soap?"

"Said that a friend of his made that mistake and it didn't go over well"

House nodded. "Thank you double 'o' seven. I'll expect a full report." With that the man returned to the office.

Friday came, and Don showed up at the agreed time, in the sports bar.

As they watched the game, House and Wilson talked about his plan.

"You rigged the bet didn't' you?" the oncologist sighed.

"If his name is Brian, then mine is Bertie" House countered. "Maybe he'll let something let slip once he allows himself to let his guard down with Chase."

"If he is a fugitive, he couldn't have picked a worse place to hide out" Wilson shook his head, thinking about how determined his friend seemed. The man had a boundless curiosity.

"He's not comfortable with his goatee" House told him.

"What makes you say that?"

"I've noticed that he keeps it as trim as possible without shaving it off." House explained. "That means that he's used to being clean shaven, and prefers it that way"

"Maybe he's ex-military?" Wilson decided to humor his friend.

"Why have an unwanted goatee, unless you're using a fake identity?" House said.

"Maybe he lost a bet like Chase did?" Wilson joked.

"Hopefully Chase will find out for us"

Back at the sports bar, Chase asked

"Have you always lived in Jersey?"

"I was born and raised near Boulder" Don replied, while sipping some beer.

"I see. What made you decide to come to live in Jersey? People aren't' exactly moving here in droves" Chase continued his questioning, and Don began to wonder about the curiosity because Chase wasn't being very subtle. Plus, Don, was an experienced agent.

"Change of scenery" he told him.

"Oh...that's an interesting reason"

A bit later, Chase uncomfortably lied "My dad and I used to watch soccer together. You ever watch games with your Dad?"

"Not really...we became estranged when my mother died of cancer.." Don said.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Chase was pained by memories of his father leaving his mother, and her alcoholism.. He admitted "My mum died a few years ago"Don sensed that this was true.

"It must have been hard on you and your Dad" the agent remarked, remembering his own experience with Alan.

"Yeah..it was..." Chase said uncomfortably. Don sensed that maybe mom and dad weren't on the closest of terms when the former died.

The conversation died, when the commercials ended. When the next set of them aired, Don asked.

"What department do you work in?"

"Diagnostics" Chase said, not wanting to mention that House was his boss.

"Aren't all doctors diagnosticians to some degree?" Don asked.

Chase chuckled. "I get that a lot. Anyway, diagnosing is a very complicated process. So many diseases have overlapping symptoms, and often times my department gets the patients other departments can't diagnose."

"So diagnosing mystery illnesses is almost like solving a crime. The symptoms are clues, and the disease is the perp" Don used his experience to make the metaphor, but figured that the plethora of cop shows would allay any suspicions on the Australian's part.

"That's a good way of putting it." Chase agreed, and the dialogue stopped as the game returned.

Eventually, the game ended and they parted ways.

On Monday ,House debriefed Chase at lunch.

"What did you find out about him?" House took a couple of pills, and began to eat.

"He's from Boulder Colorado, and says that he came to New Jersey for a change of scenery ." Chase picked at his so called lasagna.

"No one come to Jersey for a change of scenery!" House scoffed "Anything else?"

"His mum died of cancer, and he is estranged from his dad"

"He could be telling the truth about his mother dying from cancer." House mused. It explained Brian's reaction to the man's comment about the cancer shirts. "Did you learn anything else?"

"He seems pretty sharp" Chase said.

"I already knew that" House sighed.

"He didn't really talk much, especially when the game was on" Chase explained. "And I didn't want to seem too obvious"

House nodded. "See about having lunch with him next Tuesday."

"Why next Tuesday?" Chase asked. The choice of date seemed arbitrary.

"Cuddy has a meeting around the time 'Brian' ..." House used air quotes "usually has his lunch. So, there will be no chance of her seeing him and you together" He worried that Cuddy would figure out what he was up to.

After eating his lunch, House checked out the F.B.I's wanted list, which was online. Brian didn't match any of the pictures.

Meanwhile, Don ate lunch alone, and mused that maybe Chase's invitation came from curiosity as perhaps, people could have started talking about Cuddy having lunch with a gift store clerk. The last thing he needed was to bring attention to himself. In any workplace, be it a hospital or an F.B.I field office, rumors spread quickly. What if that insensitive jerk had maybe been talking to Robert, though he doubted someone like that could have friends. Just then, Cuddy asked if she could join him.

"Sure...though I gotta take inventory soon." Don said.

"Okay..."

"I hope Doctor House hasn't bothered you again." Cuddy remarked.

"No..." Don decided to steer the conversation. " I'd hate to think that he's that way with patients."

"I'm afraid, so, but he's a brilliant doctor" Cuddy said. Don didn't' see that as an excuse. If he had an agent like that, on his team he'd pull every favor to get him or her out of it. Besides, Charlie was proof to him that brilliance and decency were not mutually exclusive.

"What department is he in?"

"He heads Diagnostics" Cuddy said.

" I watched a game with someone from that same department last Friday!" Don remarked.

"Really?" Cuddy suspected that House had something to do with that. "Who?"

"Robert Chase" Don answered.

"I see."

She and House were going to have a little talk.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Don could tell, by the look in her eyes that she suspected House somehow.

"Did he make Robert watch a game with me?" Don asked in his thoughts. It wouldn't be the first time he had seen a boss abuse his or her power, but why did this House guy give a damn? Maybe hanging out with Chase could give him an answer.

Around two, a very furious Cuddy went to see House at his desk. "Care to tell me why you are having one of your people spy on Brian?"

"What are you talking about?" House played innocent. He had his bad leg on the desk.

"Brian mentioned that he saw a game with Chase."

"You've been hanging out with Brian too!" House argued.

"But I'm not your subordinate." Cuddy crossed her arms.

"Brian isn't who he says he is." House told her straight out. The cat was out of the bag.

Cuddy gave him a look that belied disbelief and exasperation. "What?"

" 'Brian.' " House did the air quote thing again. " 'the gift shop guy' is an assumed identity."

Cuddy rolled her eyes "I'm sure that the personnel department took the proper precautions and protocols in hiring **Brian**"

"Is this the same personnel department that screened Nurse Klepto?" House referred to an R.N., who had stolen drugs to sell to junkies.

"To be fair, she had no priors" Cuddy countered, and retorted "So who is Brian, then? A serial killer? A mafia snitch? An undercover Fed who found out that you accepted a car from a mobster?" She had found out that piece of information because Volgler, when he was around, had mentioned it during a meeting against House.

"Don't you find it odd that he hasn't asked you out? He obviously is attracted to you!" House brought up that point to get her ego into things. "Yet he keeps you at a distance"

"Say you're right about him being attracted to me..." Cuddy secretly believed House on this as she had picked up signals for herself. "He could have other reasons for not asking me out."

"Like what?"

"Maybe he's on the rebound...or he's self conscious of the fact that he doesn't have a degree." Cuddy suggested and believed this.

"I'm sure your medical degree was the first thing he noticed." House rolled his eyes, and pointed at her breasts with his cane.

Cuddy began, ignoring his comments" Brian..."

"Is afraid that you'll find human body parts in his freezer." House joked and gingerly got up, cane in hand.

"I don't want to see Chase hanging out with Brian! Is that understood?" She put her hands on her hips. The volume of her voice had risen.

"I can't tell my subordinates what to do on their free time!" House told her innocently, put out his hands, and shrugged.

"Pull out your spy, House!" With that, Cuddy left in a huff.

"Spy?" Cameron had gotten in just in time to hear her boss' boss say the last line.

"Long story...very boring! What did the tests show?" House said as his subordinate opened the manila folder.

"Were you spying on gift shop guy?" Cameron asked with raised eyebrows.

"Actually, Chase was" House told her simply as she groaned at his obsession.

-------------------------

Eventually, Cuddy went to see Brian at the gift shop.

One of his jobs consisted was the endless task of making sure the merchandise was displayed neatly. The agent found it more tedious than paperwork. When he saw the good doctor, He stopped his work and asked with a grin. "What can I do for you, Doctor Cuddy?"

"Why don't you call me Lisa?" she shrugged and smiled back. The woman didn't see the need for such formalities.

"Sure...Lisa." Don said. She loved how his eyes lit up when he smiled.

"I uh thought I'd buy more teddy bears to have on hand for younger patients" she explained.

"That's a good idea" Don assented.

Cuddy took her sweet time to choose the teddy bears.

"I just can't decide" she mused aloud to justify staying there.

"This one is really popular with parents" Don got a smallish model of teddy bear with a fake lollipop on one hand. It was soft, and pleasant to hold, and the agent guessed that Cuddy could be too.

"It's cute!" She beamed, and stroked it on the head. She liked the feel of the fake fur on her fingertips. Don couldn't help but notice how gently and smoothly she petted the bear.

"Kids also love this one" Don, to get his mind back in focus,showed her a teddy bear wearing white pajamas that had mini bear clown faces on it. As the agent got it from the bottom shelf, he could sense a light smell of lavender."I've also got smaller ones that would be great for preemies. They came in yesterday."

"Hey Brian!" Chase came into the shop. He didn't knowthat Cuddy and Don had become aware of the little game that House was playing called 'Spy by proxy'.

"Hey pal!" Don acknowledged him in a friendly tone, wondering if House had sent him there.

"Dr. Chase..." Cuddy said neutrally. What House and Chase were doing bothered her. Brian was a smart, honest man! Why couldn't they see that? Why did House have to always be suspicious?

"How are you, Dr. Cuddy?" the Australian asked.

"Fine... I need to talk to you regarding a patient whenever you're available" she told him.

"Sure..."

Something told Don that patient was Euphemism for 'spying' on him for House. Soon, Cuddy left after buying a couple ofteddy bears.

"Is she a tough boss?"

"Not as tough as the head of my department" Chase said.

"Really?"

"Let's just say he's not the easiest person to work for!" Chase whispered. Don had worked for hard bosses, but working for a jackass like House would really try his patience.

Don returned to organizing merchandise "I heard that he was a brilliant doctor"

"He is! The man thinks out of the box!"

"I also heard he had a terrible bedside manner"

"It could be better" Chase remarked.

"He came in here once asking me if I had any shirts that said 'I survived Cancer and all I got was this lousy tee shirt' " Don sighed at the memory.

"He likes to provoke people" Chase said, hoping to find common ground with the man, though felt bad. "You should hear the things he tells me and my co workers!"

Don inwardly wondered how such a man could be put in charge of anything. Provoking people wasn't the way to deal with the public, or run a team.

Suddenly, Chase's beeper went off, and he had to go.

"I'll see you around!" the doctor said and ran off.

While there were no customers, Don did some thinking. Cuddy seemed to have suspicions about House, when the agent had mentioned watching a game with Robert. Don doubted that a doctor would be used by those who wanted to kill him. Thus, House had his own reasons for being curious.

Some hours later Don found the extension to the diagnostics department. He doubted that House himself would answer, being the head of it.

"Diagnostics?" Cameron answered.

"Hi! I was wondering if I could speak to Dr. Chase? Tell him it's Brian" Don said. He wanted to seem like he was getting friendly with Chase, so that House wouldn't figure out that Brian knew what the deal was.

"He's not in at the moment, may I take a message?"

"Tell him Brian said hi, and was wondering if he wanted to watch a game sometime" Don said in his most pleasant voice.

"I'll make sure that he gets it" Cameron promised as she scribbled it. House curiously looked on and read the message.

When she hung up, he asked. "Was that Brian?"

"Yeah...he wanted to ask Chase to come to a game sometime."

"Good" He leaned on his cane a bit.

Cameron protested"But Cuddy..."

"Doesn't really hang out at sports bars!" House rolled his eyes.

"The poor man thinks that Chase is being his friend!" Cameron complained. She hated this game that House was playing.

"This man could be a criminal for all we know!" House pointed out.

"We're doctors, not Feds." Cameron sighed and rolled her eyes.

When Chase returned from doing some tests on a patient, a surly Cameron gave him the message.

"He seems like a nice guy." She scrawled at him.

"He is...Look, would you rather have House hassling him? At least this way, the poor man is left alone, and I gain a friend" Chase justified himself, but Cameron didn't quite buy it.

Some days later, Chase and Don met up at the sports bar again, hoping to gain information about each other. The latter found it funny that House had unwittingly sent a doctor to get information from a trained F.B.I agent. It was going to be an interesting night.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

"So uh...does Cuddy come to your store often?" Chase asked during a Geico commercial. He had sensed a little something during the two times he had seen them together. The chatter of other patrons could be heard in the background and the two men were at a table near a large Sony television.

"Not really." Don sipped some beer, and partook of some buffalo wings. They were sweeter than he expected.

" Pretty isn't she?"

"Not bad looking, I guess." Brian nee Don shrugged casually. "Does she visit your department a lot?"

"Sometimes, but mostly to scold House or give us a case. " Chase got another piece.

"She disagrees with his methods?"

"They tend to be out there" Chase bit on a wing and chased it with beer.

"Yet she gives him cases?" Don ate some more. This puzzled him. Cuddy seemed to be an intelligent woman.

"When it comes to mystery illnesses, he's the go to guy" Chase explained.

"Okay..." Don said. "How long has he been working at the hospital?"

"A long time."

"It must be if he can get away with stuff" Don commented as Chase laughed. "Does he have a lot of enemies?"

"Most of the nurses hate him! His only friend is Doctor Wilson, the head of oncology." Chase answered.

"What about Cuddy?"

"I personally think they're exes, given how nasty they act towards each other." the Australian admitted.

"That's food for thought" Don nodded, though he felt a bit...well not too happy that Cuddy was working with a possible ex.

With ease and skill, Don changed the subject by starting to ask Chase about his career, why he choose it etc. The Australian found himself opening up,while Don found himself interested.

On Monday, Foreman teased Chase during lunch. "How's the undercover work?"

"Cameron told you?"

"She's not too happy about it" Foreman shrugged. To him, House's little game was business as usual.

"Like I told her, at least House isn't bugging him." Chase argued. He could hear a couple arguing in the background, while someone else dropped some dishes.

"Have you found out anything?"

"Not enough for House." Chase shook his head and frowned at the dry meatloaf.

A few minutes later, Brian nee Don suddenly appeared and asked "Hey guys! Can I join you?"

"Sure!" Chase worried about Cuddy, who had scolded him, seeing the trio. With some concern, he introduced the two men "Foreman, this is Brian. Brian. Forman."

The two men shook hands.

Foreman said "It's a pleasure."

"Same here" Brian said. "You're the neurologist, right?"

"Yeah" Foreman said. Chase was impressed with the man's memory.

"So..how are sales?" Chase asked.

"Pretty good. I had a bunch of new fathers in there this morning." Don pined for his Dad's food yet again, while taking a bite out of the mediocre cafeteria meatloaf, which was very tasteless and dry. "Any new patients?" The latest patient had left last Friday.

"Not yet, and I'm sure House is trying to keep it that way" Chase commented.

"Cause he only wants the weird cases" Brian nee Don added with a grin.

Foreman asked "I take it Chase has told you about House?"

"A little, yeah" Brian told him, skipping the meatloaf, and eating the fries.

"He's probably at the clinic as we speak" Chase added.

"Clinic?"

"He has to work several hours a week in PPTH's low cost clinic" Foreman explained.

Chase added. "He hates going there with a passion!"

"I feel sorry for the patients" Brian mused and chased his fries with cook. They were halfway decent if you added enough salt to them.

"You and me both" the Australian agreed, as Cameron came to join them, with a laden tray. She felt bad for Brian.

"How are you? I'm Cameron." She put out her hand, which Brian nee Don took. He found her to be pretty, but not as attractive or vibrant as Cuddy.

"I'm Brian." They shook hands.

"We were just talking about House" Foreman filled her in.

She asked. "So, Brian...how do you like working at PPTH?"

"People seem nice, and I like bringing comfort in some way when I help people choose the right thing for their loved ones" Brian replied, then asked partly out of interest and partly to defray the conversation away from him"so uh...Chase tells me that you're an immunologist?"

"Yeah, I am."

"It's amazing how something that's supposed to protect the body, can become its worst enemy" Brian remarked.

"It is" Cameron agreed wholeheartedly.

"So, how did you and Foreman choose your specialties?" Brian asked.

The two doctors answered his question about the why of their specialties, but then had to go when their beepers went off.

Later on at Diagnostics, as the trio sat around the table, Cameron glared at Chase. "He's such a sweet guy!" I can't believe you're spying on him!" This whole business bothered her to no end.

House came in, just as she had begun to speak.

"You met Brian?"

"Yeah...we all had lunch with him" Cameron told him sourly.

"What did you talk about?"

"He asked me and Foreman about our specialties and why we choose them." Cameron explained to her boss.

"Of course he did.." House limped closer to the table. "to avoid any more questions about himself."

"Why can't you accept that he's just a nice, sweet guy, who is what he seems to be?" Cameron protested.

"Because he isn't!" House countered.

"Well, we're not exactly qualified to figure it out either way" Foreman pointed out.

"You didn't get any criminal vibes from him?" House asked to the neurologist's annoyance, but the question was ignored.

"You're reading too much into what he does!" Cameron added with exasperation. House got obsessed over the weirdest things.

------------------------

That night, Don went alone to some pizza place . The pizzeria was a hole in wall, with checkered table cloths, and lots of posters from different Italian cities. After ordering , an all meats personal pizza, he settled into a booth, and sipped some beer. He stopped drinking, upon seeing House and a friend sitting nearby.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Don, hoping they wouldn't notice him, moved a little. He didn't feel like dealing with House, and wished that his dad and brother could join him. They would have liked it here.

"Looks who's here" House indicated with his head. The two men had just arrived straight from the hospital post shift and were looking at the menus.

Wilson said in his best announcer voice. "The famous Brian"

"I wonder if he's here with someone" House remarked. He was curious, as always.

"Like Cuddy?" Wilson joked.

"Notice how he moved" House mused.

"Not that I blame him" Wilson remarked, having heard about the cancer shirt incident, and remembering how Brian was the subject of his friend's curiosity.

For the fun of it, House went to Brian's booth to Wilson's exasperation.

"So...any luck getting into Cuddy's pants?" House asked. This bothered Don. "And groping her fun bags?"

"Don't you have patients to mistreat?" Brian avoided the question.

"I'll take that as a no. Seems like Cuddy prefers men who make more than minimum wage" House snarked

Don kept his calm. He had heard worse insults during his time as an F.B.I agent from perps. "She doesn't like bastards either

"Looks like you're disqualified on both counts" House countered without missing a beat. He wanted a reaction from Don. With that, House sat down on the other side of the booth. "So, what did you order?" The doctor wanted to keep Don on his toes, by changing the subject.

"Pizza"

"But I'm sure you'd rather snack on Cuddy's fun bags."

"Some people would say that you are projecting" Don put his arm on top of the booth seat. House could tell by the look of the man's eyes that he was bothered, very bothered, yet appeared calm.

"This man's got some discipline. Where did he learn it?" House thought, but asked. "Projecting? You know a little psychology?"

"I know a head case when I see one." Don deadpanned.

Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, Wilson saw a familiar face; Cuddy! Boy was House in trouble!

Cuddy, who had gone to pick up a pizza for her niece's birthday party, saw the two of them at the booth, but something told her that it wasn't for a friendly chat. So, she decided to butt in.

"Hey guys! How's it going?" she asked, and gave House a discreet, annoyed look. Don decided to try to keep things civil so that Cuddy wouldn't get into it, and he could take care of House himself.

The doctor said, "We're just having a little chat"

"Why isn't Wilson with you then?"

Don asked, with a smile. "Why don't you join us?" Cuddy looked fantastic with a bright red top, and a matching skirt. Her hair looked radiant in the light.

"Yeah, join us" House mocked.

"I'm just here for a pick up." Cuddy looked at her watch. "For my niece's birthday party. The pizza should be done in a few minutes."

"How old is she?" Don asked, his tone turning friendly. He stopped regretting coming to this place.

"Nine." Cuddy replied.

"Why don't I leave you two love birds alone?" House said, tongue in cheek, and rejoined Wilson.

"I'm sure Wilson could use the company" Cuddy shrugged.

""How'd it go?"" Wilson said, as House returned to their table.

On an impulse, Cuddy began back at the booth, "Tomorrow night, I'm having dinner with a friend of mine and her new boyfriend, but I don't know how comfortable it's gonna be..." She found herself sitting down and scooting to the middle of the booth seat. The agent could smell her perfume.

"Third wheel-itis, huh?" Don smiled. "I've been there"

"It would be nice to have a friend along to make it a foursome" Cuddy continued with her own smile. "It's the only course of treatment for third-wheel-itis."

"I don't think I'll be on call anytime soon" Don smiled. It wasn't really a date, so it was safe. Besides, he enjoyed her company. "I'll gladly be that friend."

"Here's the address" Cuddy wrote it down. "We're meeting there at eight."

Meanwhile, House wondered what his boss was writing down.

"Did she just ask him out on a date?" Wilson asked. Don and Cuddy had talked in soft voices.

"Cuddy probably had someplace to go and asked 'Brian' to come along. I'll get Chase on this, tomorrow" House told his friend; the two had yet to make up their minds on what to get.

At that moment, Don got his pizza, but his mind was on Cuddy.

"Could you put anymore meat on this?" She teased. The pizza was still boiling hot. They could see bubbles on the cheese, and smell the various toppings.

"I've got bell peppers too!" He joke, while carefully taking a bite. "Isn't that a vegetable?"

Soon, Cuddy's pizza was ready. She picked it up, while Don boxed and paid for his own pizza, so he could walk the doctor to her car, and enjoy the good feeling without House ruining it.

Nervously, Don went, the next day, during his lunch hour went to buy a new shirt and pants. Chase had tried to get him to talk about Cuddy, but without any luck. Around seven forty-five, Don arrived at the restaurant. Cuddy came two minutes later, wearing a gorgeous emerald dress that flattered her figure. Don tried his best not to stare.

"Brian, how are you?" Cuddy asked with a grin. Brian had on a nice dark shirt, with a dark jacket over it.

"Good, You?"

Soon, Susan, Cuddy's friend, and her boyfriend arrived.

"Susan, Carl, this is Brian, a friend of mine from the Hospital" Cuddy made the introductions.

"It's a pleasure to meet you" Don shook both their hands. Soon, they were all seated.

"So...what department do you work in?" Susan asked after they were in the tables. They all sipped some wine.

"I work at the gift store" Don said. He could tell that Susan and her boyfriend were surprised.

"Brian's business savy is excellent!" Cuddy added. She thought it was true.

"A lot of it's common sense" Don said.

"Many of my students could use some of it" Carl chuckled. He had salt and pepper hair.

"Carl's an undergraduate professor at Princeton" Susan explained.

"Of what?" Brian asked.

"Art History"

Time passed, and wine was heartily drunk. Eventually dinner and desert was consumed. When the check was paid, Don again walked Lisa to her car.

"Anyone tell you that your smile could light up a galaxy?" Cuddy asked flirtingly as they arrived at her car.

"No..." Brian admitted.

"That's a shame" Cuddy came a little closer.

"It is..." Don was so tempted to do the same, but thought it wouldn't be fair to her.

Despite what his conscience told him, he wanted to devour her, until there were no areas unclaimed or untouched. Cuddy, to say the least, had similar desires. Unfortunately, before things could be decided either way, Lisa's cell rang.

"Damn it!" she groaned, and answered it. "Cuddy?"

She listened for a while...and sighed and then hung up.

"I gotta go. There's a problem at the hospital" She looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry"

"It's okay, I understand" Brian told her gently. He understood more than she knew.

"I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah..." Don said lamely. She got into her car and rode off.

With reluctance, Don went home, to his only constant companion in Jersey: the television

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

_Beep! Beep! Beep!Beep! _

Don gingerly awoke from an erotic dream involving himself, Cuddy, and an empty Laundromat. He slapped the off button and got up to shower, wishing that she could join him.

Cuddy's radio alarm turned on to some song by Sousa.

She groaned and got up, having awoken from a dream where Don came into her office wearing nothing but a trench coat, but the alarm woke her up just as he took it off and they started kissing.

Soon, the two were on their separate ways to PPTH.

Eventually, at Diagnostics, House told his ducklings.

"Let's examine what we know about Brian" House picked up the marker. The three ducklings, while drinking their coffees, sat at the rectangular table.

They all groaned and rolled their eyes.

"He knows a little psychology" House wrote that down.

"Everyone knows a little psychology" Foreman argued. "It's all over the place"

"He also contains himself pretty well when insulted" House wrote that down.

"House ran into him at some pizza place" Chase explained.

"I contain myself when you insult me" Foreman shrugged.

"But you work with me, he doesn't." House wrote down 'contains self when insulted'.

"This is low, even for you!" Cameron crossed her arms in disgust.

"Ah! Doesn't like to talk about himself" House said as he wrote it.

"Not everyone is as narcissistic as you are" Foreman deadpanned.

"This man knows more about us, than we do about him! It's not normal for a person, without kids, to not want to talk about themselves!" House insisted. "and even then, people look at their kids as an extension of themselves."

"This is insane!" Cameron whined.

"He's from Boulder Colorado, with a mother who died from cancer and an estranged Dad" House remarked while putting all the information down.

"Maybe he's an alien in disguise" Foreman suggested sarcastically.

"Before we forgot...he is attracted to Cuddy" House wrote that part down. "They may have gone on a date, but we don't know because_ someone_ dropped the ball!" He glared at Chase.

"I went to med school, not Quantico" Chase reminded his boss.

House quickly added 'Uses alias' to the list.

"He works for the CIA or NSA!" Foreman suggested, tongue in cheek.

Ignoring him, House asked "What is the differential diagnoses for someone who uses an alias?"

"someone on the run." Foreman rolled his eyes.

"Undercover agent..." Chase added, then thought of something..." or Maybe he's had death threats...?"

" our friend 'Brian' could be in trouble with some very nasty characters" House nodded. "Who gets into trouble with Nasty characters?"

"Law enforcement officers?" Chase suggested

"Good." House agreed. "Who else?"

"People borrowing money from loan sharks?" Foreman shrugged.

"Petty criminals" Chase added.

"Who else could he be on the run from?" House wanted to explore all possibilities.

"Maybe he embezzled money?" Foreman asked.

"He'd be in the the Bahamas, not Jersey." House doubted.

" he escaped from jail, or there's a warrant for his arrest" the neurologist said.

"I checked the FBI's wanted list. He's not on it" House had been writing all this time.

"He could be wanted by a local police department" Foreman pointed out.

"You know, if I wanted to do this kind of work, I would have applied to join the F.B.I!" Cameron snapped.

"They would have rejected you the first chance they got" House remarked. Cameron was a good doctor, but too moralistic, naive, and nice for his taste. He continued "So Brian is either a criminal, someone who associates with criminals, or a law enforcement officer"

"And we're gonna use all the criminal investigation techniques we learned in med school to figure this out" Foreman deadpanned.

"Which law enforcement agencies are most likely to send someone undercover to a hospital?" House ignored him and asked.

"DEA, FBI, local police, state police" Chase said.

"Good...but..." House thought of something "Brian keeps to himself. Cuddy and Chase approached him, not the other way around. Isn't the purpose of going undercover to get more information?"

"Maybe he's investigating something outside the hospital?" Chase suggested.

"That's plausible" House agreed. "Now we gotta test these theories"

"I'll go run the tests right now" Foreman said sarcastically.

"Seeing his scars could tell us something..." House asked Cameron with a smirk "You wouldn't be willing to seduce him would you?"

"House!" she glowered at him fiercely.

"He likes Cuddy better anyway" the man shrugged. Just then, Cuddy came in, with a case in hand, and saw white board full of stuff about Brian.

"What is this?" she demanded, while the duckings looked sheepishly at the table. "Are you obsessing about Brian again? I told you to leave him alone!"

"You want him all to yourself!" House snarked.

She turned her fury to the ducklings "I can't believe you were going along with this! This isn't what the hospital pays you to do!" With that, she slamed the case file on the table. "Forget about Brian and do your jobs!" On that note, she left. Cuddy really cared about Brian and hated what House was doing.

Later, when he knew Cuddy was at a meeting, House went to the giftshop. Brian was restocking. Quietly, theDoctor went in and yelled in a menacing voice.

"This is a holdup!"

Don got up and instinctievly put his hand, where his gun used to be. In seconds, he saw that it was just House.

"What do you want?" the agent asked with annoyance, adrenaline pumped his veins.

"A million dollars and a good leg" House retorted, having noticed the little gesture. "Anyway, I gotta go. With that, he left.

"Brian is used to carrying a gun..." House thought. At lunch, he asked Wilson "What's the differential on someone who carries a gun all the time."

"Law enforcement would be my first guess."

"some civilians carry guns too" House mused.

"Does this have anything to do with Brian?"

"I went to the gift shop and yelled 'this is a holdup'" House explained as Wilson shook his head. "Guess what he did? Reach for a gun that wasn't there"

"That's interesting..." Wilson shrugged.

"We instinctively go for the things we're used to having at our side all the time." House told his friend, then thought of something. "He's well trained."

"Oh?"

"He didn't desperately grab the gun in a panic, but as someone trained to handle those kind of situations..." House mused...

"And..?." Wilson waited for him to finish his thought.

"Either our friend is in law enforcement or is a trained body guard of some kind"

Wilson joked. "Maybe he' s amafiabody guard who decided to rat out his bosses, in return for immunity and being in the witness protection program?"

House vowed. "Whoever 'Brian is, I'm going to find out"

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Wilson rolled his eyes, and House continued. "Why not both? People in Law enforcement sometimes end up working security."

"Maybe you can incite a security crisis within the hospital?" Wilson suggested with a deadpan.

"There's gotta be a way to figure out who he is!" House insisted.

At the other side of the cafeteria, Chase ate lunch with Brian. The former asked, "So...what was the best date you've ever had? Mine took place in New York, with this gorgeous Swedish girl. She was like six feet tall and we went to this Italian place. I'd tell you the rest, but I don't like to kiss and tell."

"Mine was at a Laundromat" Don remembered with a smile. "We had pizza"

"Laundromat?" Chase was surprised.

"I was much younger then" Don shrugged, then teased "Does this Swedish girl have a sister?"

After lunch, the two went to their respective jobs.

-------------------------------------------------

Later, Cuddy went to visit Brian.

"How are you?" she asked with a smile,which he returned.

"Good" Don looked up from his organizing. "Sales are okay"

"I didn't get a chance to thank you for coming with me" Cuddy told him.

"What are friends for?" Don shrugged.

"Do you jog?"

"Jog?"

"I like to jog, but sometimes it's hard to go at the goal I've set for myself without a partner to push me" Cuddy said.

"Maybe you need a friend to jog with?" Don asked impulsively.

Cuddy asked coyly "Are you offering?"

"Sure. What time?"

"Six am. You don't have to join me every time."

"Okay." He'd get up even earlier especially if it meant seeing Cuddy in a tank top.

Cuddy told him where she jogged, and with disappointment said "I've got another meeting, but I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, you will"

--------------------------------

The next day, they met at a park. Don sported a sweat shirt, sweat pants, and a backwards, blue baseball cap. Cuddy also wore a sweat outfit.

"Good morning" She grinned.

"Good morning"

Soon, they began their jog. Don found himself deliberately slowing down to catch a view of her behind. They talked.

"Nice day for a jog isn't it?" Cuddy asked to make conversation. They went at a moderate pace.

"Yeah, pretty good" Don agreed.

"Have you moved around a lot?" Cuddy asked after a while.

"I used to live in New Mexico" Don said truthfully.

"Doing similar work?"

"Pretty much yeah. You? What kind of medicine did you do before getting into administration? Don wanted to get to know her better.

"internal medicine" she told him.

More time passed, and they decided to call it a day.

"That was quite a workout!" Don exclaimed, panting a bit.

"Yeah it was" She found herself standing closer, and could see the sweat on his face.

"Well….uh...I gotta get to my place and shower" Don said reluctantly, his conscience telling him that maybe he should leave.

"Maybe...you could shower at my place?" she asked, and kissed him. Her mouth tasted like orange juice. Pent up passion got Don responding in kind. The adrenaline from the jog powered them, as did chemistry.

"Lisa….look" he pulled away. "I uh….don't know how long I'm going to be in New Jersey."

"I'll consider myself warned" she didn't care at this point, and they continued to make out.. "We've got time, let's go to my place."

"Sure.." They ran to her car.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

They both arrived late to work, and it was noticed.

"Cuddy didn't make the morning meeting" Wilson told House at the former's office. "Said she had car trouble"

.At lunch, Chase asked Brian

"I popped at the store this morning, and you weren't there. What happened?"

"Car trouble. The motor was on the fritz" Don lied, still savoring the taste and perfume of Lisa's skin. "I had to call a tow truck and take it to the mechanic.

------------------------------

Don started to visit Cuddy at her house two or three times a week., though she found it odd that he didn't want to be called his name during.

Since it was Saturday, she surprised him with breakfast in bed.

"This looks good!" he exclaimed as she laid down a bed table with a large plate of food.

"Scrambled egg whites with onion, and parsley." she cooed. "And a side of coffee, just how you like it" She had learned a lot more about him these two weeks, and not just physically. He had gone to the University of New Mexico on a scholarship, until his mother got cancer, and he had to leave school and go back home. That was about the time he got estranged from his father. She felt sad for Brian, and thought it was shame that he had to waste his talents at some cashier job.

"Why don't we do something later?" he asked, with nothing but sheets over him ."Like ..see a movie?"

"Sure!" she agreed happily. Cuddy found him to be a very sweet, protective guy. Don, for his part, felt a bit guilty. Here he was, being treated like a king, yet he hadn't really been honest with her except to say that he might not stay in Jersey on a permanent basis.

------------------------------------

Tuesday came, and Cuddy scolded House for being late for clinic duty.

"You're pretty cranky for someone who's got a boy toy" He snarked.

"Boy toy?" She got angry.

"You're dressing nicer than usual for work, and you're wearing brighter colors" He remarked, then asked in a lower voice "It's Brian isn't it?"

"Get to work" she said with contained annoyance and dismissively left.

That night, She and Brian had take out at her place.

"How was work?" he asked.

"Three patients at the clinic complained about House" She sighed.

"I heard that he's forced to work there?"

"It's part of his contract" Cuddy explained. "He doesn't get a lot of cases in his department"

"Okay..." Don wished for steaks, but Cuddy would never agree to get some.

Yet again, he spent the night.

-----------------------------------

The nex day, House decided to pay him a visit "Well, if it isn't Cuddy's boy toy" the doctor greeted the man heartily.

"Looking for tools to torture your patients with?" Don sneered.

"Guess she told you a little bit about me in between trysts"

Don put a stuffed animal way. "I've got work to do" He knew that not rising to House's bait was the best strategy.

"After which you put your Twinkie in her wrapper" House sniped, as Don wondered for a moment. How did he know? Or was he just guessing?

"I know a few places where you can put your Twinkie..." Don said in a warning voice.

"Are you threatening me?" House leaned on his cane.

"Did you run out of patients to insult?"

Cuddy came in at that very moment, saw House and asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Came for your midday quickie?"

"Go to your office, and leave Brian alone!" Cuddy ordered. "Play with your ball!"

"Look, she won't even acknowledge that you two are a couple." House remarked. "Doesn't that bother you?"

Cuddy yelled "House! Leave!"

Don wanted to take care of House himself, after all, didn't he often go face to face with criminals?

the agent snorted "Go pop some more vicodin!" Cuddy had mentioned House's habit.

"At least I don't have to hide behind Cuddy's skirts, or should I say under?" House smirked and left.

"He needs more clinic hours" Don remarked. He knew better than to expect any PDAs from Cuddy.

999999999999999999999

Later, House had an idea. He called Don, and using a fake English accent, asked "Hullo! My wife just gave birth to our tenth child, and I wanted to know if you had any appropriate gifts?"

"We've got a few things" Don answered, and made a few recommendations.

"Are you from the West coast? Your accent sounds like my wife's "

"Yeah ." Don said.

"What state?"

" Colorado."

"Ah...my wife's from Boulder!" House continued.

"Really?" Don didn't' believe in sharing more than he had to.

"Have you been to Boulder?"

"Actually, I was born and raised there" Don said.

"Did you frequent Alfalfa's?" House asked vaguely. He had been to the city a few times.

"Yeah." Don sensed that this place was a restaurant or a store.

"Good thing the mayor's current proposal didnt' go through" House bullshitted. "About the district"

"yeah..." Don agreed, not knowing what this man was talking about. House sensed this in how Brian responded.

"Which high school did you go to?" House had looked up the names of the ones in the city, and had a list. "My wife went to Fairview"

"Ah..I went to the rival school" Don boasted.

"I see...Well I gotta go...wife is expecting me, ya know...Cheers!" With that, the doctor hung up.

Don, relieved to have the phone call over with, went back to work.

Later, House called again, but using an Italian accent.

the doctor threatened "I want to take your brain! Give it to me or else everyone in the hospital will die!"

Don tried to calm down the man, and get information from him, so that he could send for help. House, trying not to laugh, observed how well Brian handled this. He stayed calm, was manipulative, and knew just what to say. This confirmed his suspicions that Brian was law enforcement. But what kind? AFter a while he said.

"Bah! You're right, taking brains is a bad idea...I'll hang up now!" With that the call ended.

Relieved, yet a bit worried that someone wasn't taking their medication, Don sighed and rang up some purchases for a doctor.

At his office, the doctor thought about what had happened. This was someone with lots of experience in handling crazed or psychopathic individuals. Plus, he knew how to take charge of a situation.

"That must mean he was a supervisor of some sort..." House thought "He tried to get me to follow his lead and trust him. He's used to being listened to."

"F.B.I!" House muttered aloud, remembering how Brian kept his goatee really trim, and hair pretty short. "But what is an F.B.I agent doing here?"

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

"Or he could come from some other federal agency" House reminded himself, and went to share his theories with Wilson

-----------------------------------------------

The next day at lunch, Chase talked about a bad date that he had the night before.

"When I went to go pick her up, she told me that she was a vegan!" Chase complained. "And the restaurant I had made reservations at didn't exactly cater to vegans, so I asked her to pick the restaurant, and she did. The food was okay, but she kept trying to convert me. The whole evening was a disaster!"

"Reminds me of what happened to a friend of mine" Brian remembered. "He after being widowed for a while, decided to try dating again, so he invited this woman from his friend's yoga class over to dinner. I went too for support. Anyway, my friend made the woman cry because he brought up the subject of hobbies, and her mother had died from a skiing accident. After that, he quickly served the roast duck, he prepared, but found out that she had two as pets!" Don laughed at the memory, and Chase guffawed.

"Poor man!" the Australian commiserated.

"Then he decided to ask the butcher. Who sold him the duck, out"

"Persistent isn't he?" Chase asked, tongue in cheek.

"What's so funny?" Cameron asked as she joined them.

"Brian was telling me how a friend of his made roast duck for a date, only to find out too late that she had two as pets" Chase replied

The immunologist laughed a little. "Talk about embarrassing!"

As the trio talked some more, House and Wilson had their own little chat.

"Wonder what they are laughing about?" House asked.

"Maybe you can debrief Chase later?" Wilson teased, while taking a bite.

House sighed. "Unless the person is sick, Chase sucks at gathering information, and we're dealing with someone in law enforcement."

"And now Brian's got Cuddy backing him up." Wilson remarked.

"That's convenient for him, isn't it?" House wryly observed. "Notice how discreet they're being"

Two days later, House decided to break into Brian's car. Just as he had managed, with a wire coat hanger, to open it, he felt some strong arms grabbing him and turning him around.

"What the hell are you doing?" Brian demanded angrily. What was with this doctor?

"You mean this isn't my car?" House joked lamely.

"What is with you? You come to my store just to harass me, then, you decide to break into my car!"

Before House could answer, someone shouted. "Put your hands up!"

With dread, but calm, Don ordered House "Do as he says. Don't make any sudden moves"

"Well, if it isn't Agent Eppes." Don saw a vaguely familiar face with a large handgun. "I could recognize your prick voice anywhere." The man had been there when his brother had been arrested.

"I knew it!" House thought, but was frightened. He had never had something like this happen before to him.

The man hissed "Remember me? You put my brother away for life, and he was innocent!"

Don remembered. The man's brother had killed two judges, and a United States attorney.

"You two are coming with me!"

"But I'm a doctor!" House protested, as Don glared at him.

"I could always use a doctor."

He made them go into the back of an old ford. Don worried. He had heard that this fellow was mentally ill and didn't take his medications.

"Bet you now that we need it, he's not gonna get stopped by the cops." House said wryly. Curiously, he first thought was that his bottle of vicodin, which was in his pocket was half empty, yet his leg was in pain. Probably from the stress.

The man handcuffed the two of them at the wrists.

"Damn!" House thought.

"Don't try anything" he warned them and closed the trunk.

"If we get through this, I'm gonna talk to Cuddy about investing in cameras in the parking lot" House remarked dryly, then asked. "What agency?"

"F.B.I" Don reluctantly admitted, as he looked around, scared, but detaching himself.

"Was this guy the reason you were at the hospital?"

"No...I was in witness protection" he said. The fact that his identity was assumed was going to be found out anyway when the cops started looking for him. Hopefully, his contact would figure out about his disappearance before his photo got put on the evening news.

"So some other pissed off bad guys were after you?"

"Yeah. This guy is the brother of someone I arrested for killing two Judges, and a United States attorney"

"No one is gonna worry about me for a while, because they'll probably think I'm just being me, but Cuddy will notice that you are gone soon enough."

"Yeah..."Don worried at how Cuddy would take the news that 'Brian' was an assumed identity. Meanwhile, House pathetically tried to find a way to get to his precious pills. Stress and fear had increased his pain.

Time passed, and the ducklings noticed that House hadn't returned. At first, they shrugged it of as House being House by coming in late, but eventually, it was much too long.

"Where is he?" Foreman wondered.

Chase suggested, "Maybe he's at the clinic?"

"He's not scheduled for it now" Cameron remarked.

Cuddy, for her part, noticed that Brian had yet to return to the gift shop. Only the part timer was there. She inwardly sighed in disappointment and went back to her office. Meanwhile, Cameron went to see Wilson.

"Have you seen House?"

"Not since lunch, why?" he noticed the look of worry on Cameron's face.

"I haven't seen him around in hours." she said.

"Maybe he decided to play hooky?" Wilson suggested.

"I've called his cell twice, no answer."

"I'd call his place, but he doesn't' answer, even when he is home." Wilson shook his head.

Back at the van, House got crankier and crankier.

"Where is he taking us? The artic circle?" the doctor grumbled. Between the pain and withdraw symptoms, he was getting to be very agitated and a pain to be around.

"Easy...try to think of something else"

"Could you see if you can get my pills? They're in a bottle in a pocket" House asked. "Scoot here and see if you can reach them."

Don sighed. Hell knew no desperation like that of an addict. Why did Cuddy have this man working at the hospital?

"No I can't."

Relief came in a surprising way. The van stopped and the two heard the opening of the door with dread. The two men found themselves in a garage.

He led them to some empty room, and made them sit down. Then, he took out two syringes from a bag. A young woman came in with a gun.

"I'm giving you morons injected morphine" he announced. The drug addict in House was happy, but the doctor in him worried about overdosing and sanitation. He wanted to keep them in check while he was gone on some errands, and he'd have a bargaining chip once they became addicted to the stuff.

"I could help with the injections, if you'd like" House offered, hoping to get his hands uncuffed

"I used to be a medic in the army" their captor told them. "It's not brain surgery."

"How much are you giving us?"

"Enough to make you glad to be kidnapped."

"How much is that in metric?" House insisted.

"Don't agitiate him!" Don warned in a low voice. He dreaded the morphine. From seeing his mother die, Don had learned about the effects of the drug. He wanted to be sharp for this ordeal,though the optimist in him figured that at least they weren't going to be tortured.

Soon, the two were injected and felt the effects of the morphine. House wasn't as affected as Don, given that the doctor had been taking large doses of vicodin for ages.

Suddenly, being kidnapped wasn't so bad to either of them. They even began to feel drowsy

The man took off the cuffs, though the woman still had the gun pointed at them.

"There's a bathroom over here, if you need it.

"Thanks" Don said absently.

"Well, we gotta go, and get some stuff, we'll see you later" The couple left, and locked the door behind them.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

"Have you ever heard of a kidnapper giving his captives morphine?" House asked in a relaxed voice.

"No..." Don lay down on the bed. He felt like he was in a fog of some kind. Just going to the bed felt like calculus. House collapsed on the couch.

Meanwhile, Cuddy worried. Brian hadn't shown up for their date at a Thai place, and he didn't seem to at his apartment when she called.

Wilson, just to be sure, went to House's place and knocked on the door. No one answered.

"Maybe he went for a ride on his bike" the doctor mused.

After waiting a while longer, Cuddy worridly left the restaurant, in decided to go home. Maybe he thought they were to meet there? Alas, there wasn't a sighn of Brian at her place either. Her gut told her that something was wrong, but she knew that the police wouldn't let her file a missing person report until forty eight hours had passed.

Eventually, the man came back and gave them more morphine.

Cuddy was frantic the next morning. A part of her had hoped that maybe Brian had gone out with some friends, but he wasn't with her nor at his apartment. Quickly she went to work, hoping in vain that he was there, but wasn't. With that, she called the police, but they politely told her that they couldn't do anything until forty eight hours had passed.

"Where is House?" Cameron asked when nine struck and vainly called his cell again.

"Maybe he changed his clinic hours?" Chase put that out there.

"I already checked when I got here" she told them.

Just then, Wilson came in.

"Where's House?"

"He hasn't shown up!" Cameron told him. "Did you see him last night?"

"No." Wilson admitted, something told him that something was amiss.

Back at the captor's house, House and Don felt hung over from the morphine, with the former wanting more.

"Guess they're not in a hurry" House mused.

Don explained. "They want us to squirm and fear the worst for a while." With that, he noticed again how bare the room was. It had sixties wallpaper, a couch, an office chair a bed and a bathroom within the room.

"Cameron probably told Wilson that I'm missing." House said, while Don felt bad about Cuddy's being worried.

Don took advantage of his sobriety by looking around a bit more. There were no windows in this room, and just one door. He also checked the bathroom. It just had liquid soap, and a roll of paper towels, along with the sink and toilet.

House dug into his pockets and to his glee, found a paper clip. He was always stealing them from the clinic. With that he unfolded it and tried to pick at the lock on the door.

"Maybe I can open this before they come back" House said.

"Can't hurt to try, right?" Don encouraged him.

Then the doctor asked. "Don't you have a contact or something?" He had seen that in the movies.

"Yeah...I don't check with her for like two weeks though" Don said.

"Does she know you're boning a hospital administrator?" House asked.

"All she cares about is my safety." Don told him warily.

"If I were in witness protection...I.."

"wouldn't last a day!" Don retorted, and walked towards the door. "You'd piss the wrong person off and your cover would be blown"

" I like you better, when you're high" House snarked.

"Back at ya pal" Don said.

"Couldn't we wait to one side of the door and knock them out when they come in?"

"Both of them are going to have guns" Don reminded him. "Keep trying, I'm sure we'll think of something."

"Is there something in the bathroom we could use?" House insisted.

"No."

House was skeptical "Did you check while sober?"

"Yeah, a while ago."

With a groan, Housetook a few more pills, and rubbed his leg due to pain. Unfortunately, his cane had bee taken away, so mobility was a problem. He got around by depending on the office chair. Suddenly, House had an idea.

"Why don't you pretend to be sick?"

"Sounds like a good idea, but maybe we should hold off on that for now." Don didn't think House, with his lack of training could pull anything.

Meanwhile, the partners in crime talked.

"Why are you giving them morphine? You're supposed to torture them!" the brunette complained. They were at the other side of the house. It had belonged to her mother.

"Drug withdraw is torture!" he argued. "But they will suffer other punishments, I promise you!"

"Like what?"

"Sleep deprivation!" he told her. The man wanted the two to suffer, especially Agent Eppes. "I happen to have some meth on me" He used it sometimes.

At PPTH, Cameron, on a hunch, went to see if House's bike was in the handicapped section. It was.She began to fear the worst and called the cops, who told her that it was too soon.

With a groan, she went to see Doctor Wilson.

"His Bike's still at the parking spot!" she told him with worry.

"What?"

"It's still there! I called the cops, but they told me they couldn't do anything until forty eight hours had passed.

"I'll see what I can do" Wilson cancelled all but his most urgent appointments and went to some of his friend's favorite hangouts, but to no avail.

Cuddy, found herself worried sick about Brian, and couldn't bring herself to come to an empty house. Why couldn't the police do something?

That night, the House and Don were both put in heavier restraints that the brunette had bought from a small S and M shop a while before, and then given meth. Both of them took the dosage with dread and a gun pointed at their heads.

"Have fun..." she taunted them and left with the man.

Don's brain became overwhelmed with thoughts upon thoughts. House felt an increase in pain, anxiety, and an inability to sit still.

"They want us to go without sleep!" Don mused aloud. He was talking faster than usual. The restraints grated against his skin after a while, causing sores. It didn't help that he was hyperactive.

"Ya think?" Hosue retorted, then complained. "I liked it better when they gave us morphine." They were given a certain dosage frequently enough so that they couldn't sleep at all..

Meanwhile, the forty eight hours had past, so Cuddy and Wilson were able to report the missing persons. Things got complicated, when the police questioned the ducklings and Chase mentioned his friendship with Brian and Cuddy's relationship with the same man. House had told him about the latter.

"How long had it been going on?" the detective, a man in his forties ,with salt and pepper hair asked.

"About a week and a half" the Australian said.

"I see." he said. Cuddy hadn't mentioned the relationship to the police.

"Do you think the fact that the two of them are missing is related?" Foreman asked. "They weren't exactly friends"

"We're checking out all possibilities." The detective said. "Thank you for your time." With that, he and his partner were headed towards Cuddy's office. They had a few questions for her.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

"What can I do for you detectives?" she had gladly had her P.A let them in.

"We seem to have an interesting development" the older detective said.

"Oh?"

"We just heard that you were in a relationship with one of the missing men?" the younger one, named Daniel finished.

"Yes...I am." she admitted. "I just didn't think it was relevant."

"Did Dr. House know about your relationship?"

"He seemed to suspect something" Cuddy said, not liking where this was going. "Look, I'm a single woman, so I don't see where this is going."

"Double standards exist..." the older detective said, named Horatio. "I'm sure that you're well aware of that."

"Yes I am, but what has that have to do with anything?"

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"The morning before his disappearance. He had ...spent the night" Cuddy explained.

"My girlfriend is a detective like me and she's always telling me how hard it is for a woman in a male dominated field, especially if she's a supervisor" the young detective, named James Reyes said to gain her trust."She gets flack for stuff her male counterparts get away with"

"Detective..." Cuddy began.

"Where was the last time you saw Dr. House?"

"The day before he disapeared" Cuddy said. "Look, I've got some pictures of Brian, if you need them."

"Did you have a key to his apartment?"

"We usually spent the night in my house"Cuddy explained.

"Did you two keep the relationship a secret?"

"We both agreed that it was best. He did not have any objection to that"

"Do you know of any family?"

"His mother died from cancer and he is estranged from his father."

"Thank you, Dr. Cuddy. We'll keep in touch. Please stay in town" the younger detective said and he left with his partner. With a groan, she sat down.

999999999999999999999999999

Back in their prison, Don was worried sick, fatigue and the meth had really upped his anxiety.

"What if they show my picture on the T.V?" he asked House in a panic. "The mobster who has the contract on me will find out that I'm in Jersey!"

"Come on! We both know that the media only cares about missing people who happen to be good looking white women, especially if they're blonde. Besides, I doubt Ahab is gonna tell him we're here."

"The cops are gonna figure out that Brian is a fake identity! They'll tell Cuddy!" Don continued with his worry. They had both gotten their dosages recently. Both of them were tired, yet couldn't sleep.

"Chase is gonna tell the cops that you two were involved..." House remarked.

"But I never told him..."

"I did."

"That's just great! She'll become a suspect thanks to the two of you!" Don snapped at House and worried about Cuddy.

"The cops are about to have their asses handed to them" House deadpanned, remembering what a tough woman she was.

"Come on!" Don wasn't in the mood for jokes "I know how this works! The cops will focus on her because to them, she's the only one with the motive when it comes to the two of us"

The next day, their captor started them on morphine again.

Meanwhile , the cops figured out that Brian was an alias, as they were given access to Brian's personnel file.

"I wonder if our doctor knew" Horatio, the older cop wondered aloud to his partner.

"Let's go find out"

Soon, they were back at Cuddy's office.

"We just found out that Brian wasn't his real name"

"Excuse me?" Cuddy glared at the two detectives. angrily.

"Brian Mayfair didn't exist until a few months ago." the young cop, Paul said. "There are no records of him before then, and the social security number on the personnel record belongs to a three year old who died in the early seventies from being left in a car on a hot day."

She wondered if the cops were putting her on to see her reaction, and maintained a straight face. House's various mind games had been good practice. "How can he exist and not exist?"

"Between 1973 and a few months ago, there is no activity, no schools, nothing!" Horatio explained.

"There must be some mistake" she told them coldly.

At that moment, she got a calla bout some crisis in the hospital, and had to go.

"If you'll excuse me I need to go.

"We'll be in touch." the detective said.

After she fixed the crisis, Cuddy wondered if the posters she had put up near the hospital and other places the day before would do any good. Brian had been shy about photos, but she had got him to agree to let her take one with her new digital camera. She figured that Cameron would take care of putting up posters of House.

At a restaurant near PPTH, Charlie ,who was in New Jersey for a math symposium at Princeton ,ate alone, having been stood up by a intelligent, gorgeous mathematician from UC Berkeley. Upon leaving the place, he stopped, shocked at what he saw:

A picture of Don!

Charlie read the posted many times. Apparently, his brother, under the witness protection program, had assumed the name Brian, and had evidently made friends, who cared enough to make a poster. Running, he went to his rented car, got the location of the local field office, and went there after writing the number on the poster down.

"I am Dr.Charles Eppes, and I uh..consult for the F.B.I in the L.A field office." He began to say to a receptionist, "I've come to report about someone being in danger"

Thankfully, a young agent happened to be nearby.

"Who?" she asked.

"I'd rather talk about this in private." Charlie took out a card. "Here is the number of an Agent Reeves, in Los Angeles. She'll verify that I'm a consultant."

"He's kosher, man, let him in!" another agent said. To Charlie, he looked familiar.

"You know him?"

"When I was in L.A, my team used him on a few cases"

"Agent...Larson?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah...I was on your brother's team for a while"

Soon, the trio went into a private room.

"My brother, also an agent, was put in the Witness protection program because a contract was put on his life." Charlie began. "When he shot and killed the son of a powerful crime boss during a raid, Just today, I saw a missing person poster of him. He obviously made some friends while under his assumed identity."

"I'll go get Ted" Larson got up and excused himself.

"Ted?" Charlie repeated.

"Our team leader" Sarah, the other young agent explained. "Did the poster have a phone number on it?"

"Yeah….here it is" Charlie gave it to her.

A while later, Horatio and his partner cursed inwardly as their boss, told them that the F.B.I would be taking over the Brian Mayfair case.

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

" 'Brian' is a fed in the witness protection program for shooting and killing a mobster known as _'El Tuerto_ during a raid. Turns out that he's the son of a big time crime boss" the captain continued.

"What about the House case?"

"They didn't say anything about it" she shrugged.

999999999999999999999999999999999999999999

Soon, Wilson found himself being questioned by FBI agents at his office

"Do you think they were transported across state lines?" the oncologist asked with worry, he sat as his desk, while the agents sat across from him.

"It's a possibility." Agent Ted Mann said. and continued "How well do you know Dr. House?"

"We've been friends for several years" Wilson said.

"Did he share any suspicions he had about Brian Mayfaire?" Ted's partner asked.

"He suspected that Brian was involved with Dr. Cuddy, among other things" Wilson answered, figuring that the FBI probably knew about the detectives' suspicions.

"other things?" Ted repeated with interest.

"House suspected Brian of not being what he seemed." Wilson began. "His latest theory had been that Brian was a federal agent"

"How did he get that idea?" Ted tried to hide his surprise.

Wilson talked at length about how House came to that conclusion, leaving out the first incident involving steak stealing.

"What can you tell me about the convertible he got last year?" Ted's partner, Lauren asked. A member of the team had worked a case involving the mobster who gave him the car and the agent wanted to explore all angles.

"He told me about it, and gave me a ride to show it off" Wilson shrugged, though he was anxious. It didn't escape the attention of the agents

"It didn't strike you as odd that he got such an expensive car?" Ted pressed "It's a restored convertible from the sixties!"

"He's a specialist, with no family to support or mortgage to pay" Wilson told them.

Then the two agents went to talk to the ducklings.

"Did either of them seem anxious before their disappearance?" Ted asked Chase.

"No, not at all" the Australian shook his head.

"Do you know of anyone who would want to hurt either of them?" Lauren asked.

"House, yes, Brian, no" Foreman said.

"Oh?"

"House has a way of pissing people off" the neurologist explained.

"Maybe he was taken by a former patient or a relative of one!" Cameron mused aloud. "And Brian happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time"

"We're looking at various angles" Lauren said neutrally, then turned to Chase "How well did you know Brian?"

"We'd been friends for a while" Chase replied. "We'd have lunch together, or watch a game."

"What about House's drug addiction?"

"He takes vicodin for his leg" Cameron said "That's about it"

"Nothing else?"

Chase and Foreman shook their heads, while Cameron gave the agents a look and said "No!"

"Here's my card, if you think of anything else" Ted gave them all one.

99999999999999999999999

Cuddy was Lauren and Ted's next stop.

"I take it the cops told you" she sighed when they came into her office. What choice did she have when her PA told her two feds wanted to see her?

"How did he seem before his disappearance?"

"Happy" She said, but remembered something. "When we first got involved, he did tell me that his stay in New Jersey wasn't permanent"

"I see" Lauren nodded, knowing what Agent Eppes meant. She couldn't help but feel that the man had been a bit of a cad about this. Cuddy seemed to care about him.

"Did Dr. House share any suspicions about Brian?"

"He did." Cuddy rolled her eyes at the memory.

"What did you think of them?"

"I didn't believe any of House's theories." she told him.

After a few more routine questions, they left.

9999999999999999999999999999999999999999999

Meanwhile, Charlie read through the FBI and police files about Dr. House.

"Look at all the allegations against Dr. House!" Charlie exclaimed to Agent Lawson. "He's been accused of lying to a transplant committee, blackmailing a colleague, accepting a car from a mobster... He shouldn't be practicing medicine!"

"Maybe Don saw House doing something..." Lawson thought, making a note to share this theory with his boss, but said "As hard as it is to believe, I've seen worst doctors"

"Don had a girlfriend?" Charlie mused a few minutes later, when he finished reading the report of what the cops had so far. This didn't seem like his brother to get involved given the fact that he was in witness protection. As it was Don had been wary of being in a serious relationship, giving the dangerous nature of his job.

"A hospital admin no less" Lawson remarked neutrally, thinking that Don hadn't made a very smart move.

A while later, Lauren and Ted briefed the others on the what they had found out.

Meanwhile, Don and House were lost in their respective morphine induced dreams...

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

99999999999999999999

Reluctantly, Wilson decided to call Stacy the next day. Maybe she might know something? Things between her and House had ended on a bitter note after they briefly rekindled their relationship.

"Hello?" she answered.

"It's me" the oncologist said. "I uh...need to ask you something..."

"Oh?"

"House is ..missing"

"What?"

"He and a guy who runs the gift shop have been missing for a few days. It looks serious: the Feds have gotten involved. I was hoping you might know something?" Wilson began.

"What did they tell you?" She was angry that no one had told her anything before.

"Not much...cops were looking into his disappearance, until the Feds took over."

"What about this gift shop guy?" she asked suspiciously

"House contended from the get-go that he was using a fake identity and that Cuddy was involved with him."

"Maybe he wasn't so far off? Are the Feds interested in this guy as well?"

"They asked Cuddy and House's people about him."

" It will take the feds decades to get through the sheer number of people with possible motive." she complained, remembering House's willingness to ignore ethics and the law to achieve his ends.

"He thought Brian was a fed..." Wilson added.

9999999999999999

Agent Lawson, for his part, on the orders of Ted, went to question the doctor that House had allegedly blackmailed, with his partner.

"I was wondering when you people would come see me" the doctor said from his desk with the roll of his eyes.

"Tell us about what happened?"

"House wanted me to do a liver transplant that let's just say wasn't advisable. I refused. AT first he offered me money, then he threatened to tell my wife that I was having an affair."

"It seemed to have worked" Lawson remarked neutrally. "You did the surgery"

"Yet he told her anyway" Lawson's partner added. The two had talked to nurses, who had witness the scene made by his wife at the parking lot.

As they grilled the man some more, Stacy called Cuddy.

"Were you involved with the missing gift shop guy?"

"Stacy?"

" Wilson called me." the lawyer explained.

"Oh..."

"Well?"

"Yes I was..."

" Wilson told me that House suspected that he was using a fake identity?"

"Not you too!" Cuddy sighed.

"Maybe Greg...discovered something and..."

"Brian is not like that!" Cuddy argued. "He was a very sweet, protective guy, and took House's harassment in stride"

"Greg is very observant, he might have been right about Brian" Stacey countered. "He was the one to discover Nurse Klepto" The lawyer thought about how House had broken into her therepist's things and how he liked to go break into people's homes. Maybe he had done somethign similar to Brian and saw something?

"Stacey...!"

" Wilson did mention that Greg also thought Brian might be a fed...That could be why the FBI took over his case."Stacy mused.

"Or maybe they think the kidnapper took him and Brian across state lines..."

"Who's to say that Brian wasn't the target of the kidnapper?"

"You know as well as I do, how many people House has pissed off over the years!" Cuddy could barely keep from raising her voice. "Maybe someone was threatening him, and Brian tried to help ,but ended up getting kidnapped as well?"

"Come on! Maybe some criminal that 'Brian' arrested at one point kidnapped him, and Greg was at the wrong place at the wrong time!"

They argued some more, and hung up. Stacy called Wilson to get the number of an agent working the case. She figured that they'd question Wilson and leave a card with him.

99999999999999999999999999999

A while later, Ted shared something with the group.

"I just got a call..." he began. "From Dr. House's ex-girlfriend."

Charlie raised an eyebrow, surprised that such a man could attract a woman.

"She tried to get me to see if he was a federal agent, and asked about how the investigation was doing."

Before more could be said, Charlie's cell rang. Discreetly, he went outside the conference room to pick it up. It was Alan.

"Why haven't you called?" he demanded from his youngest son. It was bad enough not to be able to have any communication with Don, without Charlie going MIA. The last several months had been hard on the poor retiree.

"I..uh...have been busy..." Charlie said quickly. Alan began to get suspicious as he sounded nervous..

"Is something wrong?"

"Dad….no!"

"What's going on? Tell me!"

A heavy silence ensued as Charlie frantically thought about what to say.

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

"Charlie!" Alan raised the volume of his voice and repeated "What's going on?"

"I uh...saw this uh...poster" the mathematician began.

"And..." Alan said impatiently.

"Don's picture was on it"

"What??"

"The uh...friends he had made under his new identity had put it up..."

"I thought the point of witness protection was to keep him out of danger!!!!!!!" the retiree snapped angrily. He couldn't' believe this!!"

"I'm helping the local field office search for him"

"Any luck??" Alan asked, needing some shred of hope as his mind worked through various scenarios, none of which ended well.

"We've got a few leads" Charlie replied vaguely.

"I'm going there..."

"Dad...it's not necessary!!" he tried to assure his father, but it was futile.

"You say that because you've never had children" Alan told him sharply.

"I'll pick you up at the airport" Charlie promised with a sigh.

"Good. I'll book the flight, and let you know" with that the older man hung up.

Deciding that he needed more data and that his curiosity needed to be satiated, Charlie went to talk to the various people at PPTH, who had contact with Don during his time in witness protection.

His first stop was Chase. The two talked in the diagnostics office. Charlie introduced himself.

"You're a math consultant for the FBI?" the Australian asked.

"Yeah, and I teach applied mathematics at Cal Sci..."

"A friend of mine from Med school went there!" Chase remarked. The two were at the large table the team usually used for differentials. "No offense, but uh...why are you doing investigative work?"

Charlie patiently explained the math behind his need for data, basically saying that talking to the people House and 'Brian' had contact with might lend him a clue as to how and when the two men met their kidnapper.

"Brian and I would sometimes watch games together" Chase began. "And I'd drop by his shop to say hi"

"I got the impression that uh...He didn't get along with uh...Dr. House?" Charlie continued.

"House suspected that Brian wasn't who he claimed to be" Chase explained, as he got up and poured himself some more coffee.

"I see...so uh...what was Brian's routine?"

"Routine?" Chase repeated with a puzzled face. "He worked at the shop, and would eat at the cafeteria."

Just then, Cameron came in. Charlie found himself looking at her. She was easy on the eyes with her pretty, brown hair, and gentle face.

"This is Dr. Charles Eppes. He's a math consultant for the FBI" Chase explained to her.

"You're helping to find House and Brian?" she asked.

"Yeah..." Again Charlie explained the math involved. Cameron found this interesting.

"Don't you have access to the missing person reports?" the immunologist asked.

"Yeah, but I uh...wanted to make sure all the uh...bases were covered." Charlie drank coffee, and Cameron joined them at the table. "So uh...I was just hearing about House and Brian not getting along?" He wanted to know more about the man who might have put his brother in danger.

"House got obsessed with Brian, and spun all these theories..." Cameron replied.

" I uh...heard that House isn't easy to work with?"

"He doesn't uh...suffer fools" Chase said diplomatically.

"Did uh...Brian seem to like New Jersey?" the mathematician continued. He cared too much about Don to not ask this question.

"I think so...though he kept to himself...mostly" Chase replied. Cameron raised an eyebrow.

"How is that knowing gonna translate into data for your work?" she asked him.

Using his expertise, he concocted an excuse, which she seemed to accept.

"House thought Brian was a federal agent" Cameron said casually, to see how Charlie reacted. She noticed a little surprise in the eyes.

"Oh...really?" Charlie made himself sound casual.

"Yeah..." Chase said.

"Any chance you could tell us either way?" Cameron asked directly.

"My primary concern is learning who he and House had contract with"

"But doesn't' knowing if he's a federal agent help in the investigation?" Cameron insisted.

"As a uh...consultant, I'm on a need to know basis." the mathematican was getting nervous.

"But you said that you had access to reports!" Cameron needed to know what was going on!

"Look...uh...thanks for talking to me. I uh...have to talk to a couple of other people, do some calculations and report my findings to the lead investigator by the end of the day." Charlie told them, got up, said goodbye and was on his way to the next person, Dr. Cuddy.

TBC


	15. Ch 15: When Charlie met Cuddy

Charlie identified himself to Cuddy's personal assistant, who went into the administrator's office to announce the professor. Soon, Charlie found himself in a very large office, with an expensive looking desk, and big windows. Cuddy, wearing a blue green pantsuit got up, and said.

"Dr. Eppes ...it's good to see you again..."

"Ah...the conference at Baylar last year, right?" Charlie remembered, and realized that Cuddy would go. He lectured at said conference to talk about some work he had done, on how hospital related infections could be curtailed using mathematical principles.

"Your talk was very thought provoking" Cuddy said, remembering how House scoffed when she had started to make changes based on the professor's lecture.

_'Mathematicians see numbers and patterns in their poop.' he told her sardonically._

"Thank you" Charlie said.

"My assistant says that you're helping the FBI with the case?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah.."

"I've already told everything I know to the police and the FBI." she remarked, wondering how a mathematician could help in a missing person's case.

Yet again, Charlie explained the mathematical reason behind his coming to see her.

"Okay...well uh...Brian sometimes hung out with Chase" she began.

"Did you introduce Brian to any of your friends?" Maybe one of them or someone they knew had a grudge against Don?

"What has this have to do with anything?"

"I need to know every person Brian came into contact with...during the last few months"

"We had dinner with a friend of mine and her boyfriend a while back" she explained.

"Could you tell me the name of the Restaurant?"

"I could do better than that" 'With a sigh, Cuddy looked up the rolodex in her computer, and wrote down the name and number of the restaurant. Anything to get rid of Charlie. He was started to bother her, with what she viewed as useless or repeated questions.

"Thanks" Charlie put it in his pocket to give to the agents working on the case.

"Do you want the names and numbers of my friend and his boyfriend too?" she asked sarcastically thinking that the professor wasted her precious time. The administrador started to find Charlie's applications of math to be even more of a stretch than many of House's theories.

"That would be great!" Charlie said.

"No. I will not have them harassed by the FBI because you need data for your...equation!" Cuddy told him firmly.

"You don't understand.." the professor tried to explain.

"Yes I do, you wanna play cop, but with your little numbers" she scoffed derisively. "Go...solve a millennium problem or something" The woman then turned to her computer monitor.

As he, with disappointment and confusion as to what Don saw in Doctor Cuddy, walked out of her office, the professor remembered Dr. Wilson, a purported friend of House's.

"He might know something..."

Feeling hopeful, Charlie looked at a directory to find out where Oncology was.

TBC


	16. Chapter 16

To Charlie's relief, Wilson was available for a chat.

"Dr. Eppes I presume?" the Oncologist asked when Charlie came into the office. Cameron and Cuddy had both called to warn him about the professor. The oncologist agreed that the mathematician knew more than he was willing to tell them all.

" I'm a consultant for the F.B.I and a professor of Applied Mathematics at Cal Sci University" Charlie explained and sat down uncomfortably. Wilson's being an oncologist reminded Charlie of his mother's illness and death.

"So I've been told..." Wilson said neutrally, and asked with a deadpan. "Apparently, math is the key to finding missing people?"

"It can be used for that purpose" Charlie realized, with an inward groan, that the man had been warned.

"And you need to know everyone Brian and House came into contact with and everywhere they went?"

"Uh…..yeah."

"You're a consultant for the FBI; you probably know more that I do, like who really was this Brian guy..." the oncologist raised an eyebrow. He of course was worried sick about his friend.

"I'm on a strict uh...need to know basis" Charlie gave this excuse to Wilson.

"But you've got to have some clearance?" he insisted.

"the bare minimum" Charlie continued to lie. I reality, thanks to his work for the NSA, he had the top clearance.

"As a mathematician, you needs lots of data" Wilson continued. "Otherwise, you can't do your work"

As the conversation continued along these lines, Don, at his prison noticed that House was cutting lines on his arm using some implement he had sharpened somehow.. He looked terrible, with bags under his eyes, which looked red. Don didn't look too well either. They hadn't been given any drugs for quite some time .

"hey!" Don, grabbed the implement from house. "What's with you??"

"It...helps the pain..." House said. It was partially true. Cutting his arm up would temporarily release endorphins. The meth had made his pain worse, and he had already used up the few pills that were left once the drugs from their sick captors stopped coming.

"… Especially when you cut a major artery!" Don retorted. He had seen, in his time, what the desperation of addiction drove people to do. Sadly, the agent had seen cases, where people prostituted their own children for met, or cocaine.

Rolling his eyes, House snapped. "I'm a doctor, you idiot! I know where they are!"

Don sardonically replied "yeah..…. a doctor who's so addicted that he's gotta cut himself ... "

Before the fight could continue, their captor came in.

He looked at them with sadistic glee. "There's someone to see you..."

Don's instincts told him that he wasn't going to like this 'visitor'. Was this some 'tough' hired to torture them? Dread filled the agent.

"I don't care who it is, as long as they give me morphine" House said half joking, half from really wanting some morphine.

---------------------------------------------------

Back at Wilson's office, the conversation ended, when the oncologist got beeped.

"Patient emergency" he told Charlie, and left. Disappointed, the mathematician left the office. Before he could even reach the elevator, Cameron intercepted him. She was determined to get some answers.

TBC


	17. Chapter 17

"Dr Cameron..."Charlie trailed off.

"What is Brian to you?"

"huh?"

she persisted, making sure he couldn't get away. Cameron was determined to get some answers. "Friend? Family? Lover?"

"What???" Charlie was flabbergasted at the last speculation.

"Why else would you do leg work?" she demanded.

"As a mathematician, I need data!" the mathematician said.

"Why does the FBI care about 'Brian?' " she demanded.

"That's classified"

"yeah..." Cameron began wryly. "It's so classified that some nutcase kidnapped him and House."

" you know what? Interrogating me isn't getting us any closer to finding them" Charlie began to get impatient with her. Cameron sensed that the professor cared about Brian.

"You're worried about Brian aren't you?"

"Who wouldn't be?" the professor countered.

"He's not just another person that the FBI wants to find. He means something to you!"

They argued some more until Cameron got paged for a consult.

When she was able, Cameron did some more online research on Charlie, discovering something. She decided to share it with Cuddy, giving how it could affect her, and maybe her information could shed some light.

"Did Brian have any scars?" Cameron asked papers in hand.

Cuddy, quickly, remembered something about Brian. She noticed a scar on his chest, one morning after, and had asked him about it.

_"I was the night manager at a store, and we got robbed." he told her. _

"Well?" Cameron asked, interrupting Cuddy's thoughts, maybe House had been right about Cuddy seeing Brian on the sly.

"Why would I know that?" Lisa avoided the question. She made herself sit back on the large, leather chair.

"House says that you and Brian were seeing each other." Cameron needed to know if they had.

The administrator gave a wry laugh, and retorted "Of course he would. "

"The mathematician has some personal connection to 'Brian'." Cameron sighed and continued.

"What makes you say that?"

"The way he's going about it, and a website I found."

"Oh?"

"Some student put up a 'fansite', according to it, Dr. Eppes has an older brother, in the FBI! They work together solving cases" Cameron said. Some of her research had been online, as academic papers wouldn't have personal information.

" There are websites claiming that lupus can be cured with cat urine" Cuddy groaned.

"I looked up the name Agent Don Eppes,." Cameron countered, and reluctantly, gave her some papers she had printed . "There's a picture of him. Does it look familiar?"

Cuddy looked at the photo, from some West Coast newspaper. 'Brian', who looked clean shaven, wore a suit and sunglasses, while directing others in business attire, and blue FBI shirts. There he was, the same Brian who sold teddy bears, and charmed Cuddy, directing an investigation.

Lisa, angry and hurt, thought, "What an Idiot! House was right!"

TBC


	18. Chapter 18

The visitor, as it turned out, was a short, man, who, with a gun in his hand, yelled and kicked House. Then, he left. The two prisoners found themselves alone for what seemed like hours, until, they heard and saw guns pointed in their faces. Men and women, in the fatigues of cops in a raid stood all around thm.

Don tried to explain to them who they were, but in their state of morphine induced fogginess, dirty clothes, and a lack of restraints, there was some skepticism,

"Let me get this straight." the sargeant began "Some nuts locked theyou two up for the sole purpose of injecting you with morphine?"

"They wanted to torture us with withdrawl" Don said. "Look, I'm in the FBI. I was here under witsec until being kidnapped."

"We'll called the local field office, see what they say." the sargeant promised, after hearing more details about why Don was in New Jersey.

"Someone called you guys?" House asked, curious about what brought them to that house.

"Yeah" the sargeant replied. "We got an anonymous tip saying that some dangerous meth operation was going on here by a well known dealer."

"Looks like you got the wrong house" House remarked sardonically "I don't see any meth lab here"

The local field office was called, and things started to get into place. Charlie, at the nearby field office reunited with his brother.

Dad's gonna be so happy!" Charlie smiled, and updated Don about his subordinates. Then, he said, "I've got som bad news...about..Lisa.."

"Is she okay?"

"She knows..."

Don groaned "ah man!!"

"She shoved an old newspaper in my face, and told me that I'm as big an asshole as you are"

"I wanted to tell her the truth, but I couldn't, ya know?" Don explained.

"I understand"

"I gotta go talk to her!" Don said.

"After talking to Dad!" Charlie insisted "He's about to arrive here"

"You told him I was missing?" Don demanded.

"It....uh...came out" Charlie said "Anyway, I still can't believe you got saved because the police had the wrong house!"

"yeah..." Don couldn't help but smile.

------------

Alan's joy at seeing Don showed in his eyes, and smile. Father and son hugged, caught up and talked of old times at a nearby steakhouse.

"This Lisa sounds like a great woman, Donnie, you gotta talk to her!!" Alan advised, as he gobbled another piece of rib eye.

"But how? I lied to her for months, Dad. Hell, she didn't even know my real name!"

"But your feelings for her are very real, I can see it in your eyes"

"I don't know if she'll forgive me"

------------------------

Meanwhile, Lisa talked with a good friend; the two knew each other since med school.

"What hurts me the most" Lisa began sipping wine, and getting comfortable on her sofa "is that he didn't trust me enough! I would have protected his secret! I shared so much with him, more than I had with anyone in a very long time"

"He was in witness protection"

"So his brother told me....."She polished off her glass.

"You sounded so happy with Bri...Don."

"I was.....but he was too good to be true...how can I trust him again?"

Some days later, Don, in the evening,,went, with flowers in hand, to see Cuddy.

"Here goes" He thought, while ringing the doorbell.

TBC

Will Cuddy forgive Don? Tune in for the next Chappy to find out!


	19. Chapter 19

"What do you want?" Cuddy asked coldly, as she opened the door.

"To apologize" Don replied. He attempted to hand her the flowers, but she crossed her arms.

"I can't be with someone I can't trust, Don" she informed him.

"I was trying to protect you!" Don tried to explain himself.

"Look, just return to your life in Los Angeles..."

"I could ask for a transfer?" he suggested.

She shook her head."I think it's best if we both just moved on"

Don's face showed disapointment; he sighed. With that Cuddy returned to her house, and closed the door.

-----------------

The three Eppes men returned to Los Angeles, and their lives. Don soon got back into the hang of the job, while recovering from his ordeal and minor dependencies on the drugs given to him by his kidnappers. He still thought about Cuddy, but soon she become a memory; just another potentially good relationship gone wrong.

House continued with his work, and with his addictions to vicodin and morphine. He and Don, didn't really keep in touch as they both led their lives. Eventually, House would get a new team, while Don would get new team members, and start going to temple. Cuddy would eventually, through artificial insemination, have a baby. In other words, Life went on.

The End


End file.
